by Scott Harper
The people of Georgia commonly
use a variety of alternative names for Sasquatch, including "skunk
ape", "swamp ape", "booger", and "wood
booger" among others.
Call them what you will, there
are a lot of stories regarding these creatures floating around the state.
However, many of them carry the air of tall tales. There are accounts out there
of them screaming at people in English, riding on the back of horse-and-buggies,
and even being 13-feet-tall, and able to survive being shot with multiple
rifles at the same time. I've even run across an account in which a man
carrying a scythe supposedly fought a Sasquatch. Can I say with one hundred
percent certainty that these accounts are nothing more than stories? No. But
these seem unlikely to me. Still, there are more credible historical accounts
to come out of the Peach State, too.
Early in 1923 reports were made
of a Sasquatch breaking into several buildings belonging to the Church of
Latter Day Saints. No follow-up on these reports seems to have taken place.
In 1934 a group of children
claimed to have spotted a Sasquatch running down a dirt road while making car
noises. Maybe the creature decided to mimic a car for some reason after hearing
one?
In 1943 a group of men in Georgia
reported killing a Sasquatch. Something—the creature, presumably—had been
killing calves, and sheep on farms in the area. The legs had been torn from
many of the victims, testifying to the strength of the killer. This probably
took place in northern Georgia, given that the men reported to have chased the Sasquatch onto a mountain while tracking it. They claimed to have shot the
creature sixty times, killing it. However, details are lacking as to what
happened next—including what became of the body.
A group of dogs cornered a Sasquatch on the porch of a house near Boston, Georgia in 1951. A man and his
wife both claimed to have witnessed this. The man shot at the creature, but the Sasquatch fled.
In 1956, near Columbus, Georgia,
multiple witnesses spotted a 7-foot-tall Sasquatch standing beside a road.
A 10-year-old boy saw what he was
positive was a Sasquatch watching him on a 98-acre farm in Troup county in
1960. This sighting took place after the discovery of calves and goats that
had been found dead.
1961 brought in an account from
Fulton county in which a group of young boys spotted what they took to be a
gorilla sheltering in an unfinished basement under a house. They threw rocks at
the creature, which "smiled" back at them. My guess would be that the
"smile" was actually a threat display. Later, red eyes were seen
looking in a window at night, and half-eaten apples, and large footprints were
discovered close to the house.
One end of the Appalachian
National Scenic Trail, or the Appalachian Trail as it is more commonly referred
to, is in Georgia. Northern Georgia, at Springer Mountain, to be exact. The
Appalachian Trail was completed in 1937. It isn't only humans who use the
trail. Many Sasquatch reports are given from the entire 2,200 miles of the
trail. Apparently, Sasquatch like the easy pathway provided by the Appalachian
Trail.
Lizard Men sightings are also
reported in Georgia's swampy areas. Despite the name, many researchers suspect
that the lizard men are actually sasquatch that are simply covered in greenery
from the swamps. Whether this coverage is an intentional attempt at keeping
cool, camouflage, or something else isn't known.
Wood booger, Sasquatch, Lizard Men, or something else—whatever you choose to call them, they seem to have been
living in the state of Georgia for quite some time.
About the Author
